Petition update

CMS PROPOSED FUNDING CUTS TO DIALYSIS CENTERS

National Kidney Foundation

Jul 6, 2013 — Medicare Proposes Deep Cuts for Dialysis

Posted on July 3, 2013 by nkf _advocacy

On Monday July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the annual proposed rule to update Medicare payment to dialysis providers beginning January 1, 2014 and to modify the Quality Incentive Program (QIP), which reduces reimbursement to providers if they don’t meet specified quality measures. What is most notable about this year’s proposed payment rule (also known as the End-stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System – ESRD PPS) is that in response to legislation passed by Congress, CMS proposed to cut payment to dialysis providers by 9.4 percent.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012 required CMS to reduce the payment rate based on the decline in the use of injectable drugs (and their oral equivalents), most notably, erythropoietin stimulating agents (ESA).